


when the mask comes off

by SailorChibi



Series: Iron Man is a little [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Play, Baby Tony, Carrying, Communication, Crying, Daddy Steve, Diapers, Domestic Avengers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugging, Identity Reveal, Infantilism, Little Headspace, Mommy Pepper, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pacifiers, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Hugging, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Steve Rogers, Secret Identities, Secret Identity Reveal, Team as Family, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has Self-Esteem Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, alternate universe - littles are known, bottle feeding, bottles, non-sexual infantilism, nor does the world know that iron man is a little, pepper potts knows, steve rogers knows, the world does not know that tony is iron man, thumb sucking, tony stark gets supported
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-05-16 05:16:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19311379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: Tony is terrified to tell the rest of the team, and Rhodey, that he's Iron Man. Overall, it goes better than he thinks it will.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A commission for the anon who wanted a sequel. We're bringing it back to happy 2012 avengers, y'all.

Tell the team. Tony stares out the window of the plane, watching the clouds roll by. Pepper’s already told him that she’ll support Tony either way, but that she thinks Tony should at least tell Rhodey. And Steve thinks that Tony should tell the rest of the Avengers. He can sort of understand their reasoning, but the thought of it all makes his stomach churn unbearably.

It’s a revelation that could easily destroy everything that Tony has worked so hard for. He can’t bear the thought of the Avengers deciding that they can’t work with him now – and that could happen, even though Tony has literally years of experience at this point. He’s proven himself over and over, but sometimes that doesn’t mean much when prevailing attitudes about Littles kick in.

This wouldn’t even be an issue if Pepper and Steve hadn’t found out, but they did. And Tony always knew it was inevitable that someone would, but he wishes it wasn’t the two people he has the hardest time saying no to. If it were Clint or Thor, he would have no problem convincing them that this is a secret best kept under wraps. That’s a lot harder to do when looking at Pepper’s soft smile, or Steve’s earnest eyes.

“Baby?” A hand settles gently on Tony’s knee, and he turns his head to find Steve sitting beside him. Tony has zero idea how long Steve has been there for, but the worried look on Steve’s face suggests that it’s probably been a little while. 

“What?” Tony asks after a pause, realizing Steve is patiently waiting for him to respond. He feels slow and sluggish and _tired_ ; it’s been nearly a month since he really spent any time in his headspace, on top of the stressful day they’ve all had, and he can feel his body starting to rebel. 

“Pepper wants to know if you’re hungry. She made up a bottle for you,” Steve tells him.

Tony thinks about putting food into his stomach and shakes his head. “No. Not at all.”

The corners of Steve’s mouth turn down. “When was the last time you ate? Something besides coffee, I mean.”

“… Yesterday?” Tony says uncertainly. He vaguely remembers eating a sandwich at some point, but couldn’t for the life of him pinpoint the time and date with any sort of accuracy. When he gets frustrated or annoyed, and he was definitely both of those things in San Francisco, food quickly loses appeal.

Steve sighs. “You need to eat something.”

“I don’t want to,” Tony says, wrapping an arm protectively over his stomach. Steve’s eyes follow the movement and his frown deepens.

“Is your tummy upset, honey?” he asks, already reaching over and setting a hand on Tony’s brow. His hand is cool and dry. He leaves it against Tony’s forehead for a moment, then touches the back of it to Tony’s cheek. 

“I’m not sick,” Tony says, but Steve ignores him.

“Pep, could you mix some liquid tylenol into that bottle?” Steve calls over his shoulder, standing up. “C’mere, baby boy. I’m going to get you into something a lot more comfortable.”

Tony resists, gripping Steve’s hands when Steve goes to pick him up. “I thought you wanted me to talk to the team?”

Steve pauses at that, giving Tony a considering look, before he says, “I do. But you’re overtired and running a low fever. I don’t think you’re in the mood for any big talks today, do you?”

Sometimes Tony hates the fact that both Steve and Pepper can read him like a book. He pouts. “I’m fine.”

“Oh you are, are you?” Steve says, looking way too amused for Tony’s tastes. “Pepper, our baby says he’s fine.”

Pepper comes walking out of the plane’s small kitchen, bottle of milk in hand. The flight attendant is up front in the cockpit with the pilot, so it’s just the three of them. She shakes the bottle gently and looks knowingly at Tony; her hair is down around her shoulders and she’s changed into a dark green sweater and jeans, because it’s a lot colder in New York this time of year than it is in San Francisco. She looks perfect for having a cuddle with.

“What’s the matter, sweetie?” she coos, walking over to him. “Is Daddy being mean and saying my little boy is sick?”

“Yes,” Tony says, pouting harder.

“What a cruel Daddy,” Pepper says, grinning at Steve.

Steve makes an exaggeratedly annoyed face. “I am a horrible, mean, cruel Daddy. I admit it. I’m so horrible that I’m going to give you a cuddle whether you want it or not!”

Tony shrieks as Steve scoops him up and into a big hug. He tries half-heartedly to struggle away, but honestly Steve’s arms are warm and feel so good that he can’t help melting into it. He burrows his face into Steve’s throat and wraps his arms around Steve’s neck, feeling a wave of fatigue settling over him. He could sleep for the next three days and be fine with that.

“Oh no you don’t,” Pepper says from somewhere behind him. “Bring him over to the couch, Steve. It’ll be easier that way.”

There’s movement and then Steve sits, settling Tony in his lap. Tony clings to Steve’s neck and whines when Pepper pries his arms away, tugging him backwards until the upper half of his body is leaning against her. He scowls up at them fiercely, but neither Pepper nor Steve seem to be affected. If anything, Steve bites his lip to keep from smiling. Pepper just sets the nipple of the bottle at Tony’s lips.

“Go on, Tony. It’ll make you feel better, I promise,” she says. 

If it were anyone else, Tony probably wouldn’t believe them. But Pepper and Steve don’t lie to him. So he reluctantly opens his mouth, letting her slide the nipple in, and sucks tentatively. It’s warm milk, but he can also faintly taste chocolate and he realizes that Pepper’s also mixed in some of the liquid meal replacement shakes that Tony favors. It covers up the taste of the liquid tylenol nicely.

When his stomach doesn’t rebel against the first few swallows, and it probably helps that Steve’s hand is rubbing gentle circles over his belly, Tony settles into drinking. Pepper holds the bottle for at just the right angle, allowing him to fully relax against her as he sucks. Her free hand combs through his hair, fingertips lightly massaging at his scalp. The uncertainty and fear from earlier start to feel a long ways away. Tony’s eyelids grow heavy.

At one point, Steve jostles him a little. Tony struggles to open his eyes and realizes he’s stopping sucking; he swallows another couple of mouthfuls before his eyes flutter shut again. And this time, it’s just too much effort to figure out how to get them open. He lets the nipple slide out of his mouth and turns his face away, not wanting to drink anymore.

“I think he’s done,” Steve says, sounding far away. Tony whimpers as he’s lifted from his comfortable position and set against Steve’s shoulder. Steve thumps his back a few times and Tony burps, then hides his face in Steve’s shoulder again. This time, they let him stay there. He quickly falls asleep.

He doesn’t wake up again until Steve stands to leave the plane and walks out to the car. Happy is waiting for them and greets them quietly, clearly thinking Tony is still asleep. Tony doesn’t bother to correct the assumption, watching with barely open eyes as Steve and Pepper climb into the back of the car and Happy gets back into the front seat. The car pulls away from the curb and Tony is gone again.

It’s morning when he wakes up for real, opening his eyes to find that he’s tucked in his crib with his blanky and his teddy bear cuddled securely against his chest. He sits up rubbing at his eyes and yawning. He’s still tired, but the thought of going back to sleep isn’t appealing. Depending on what time it is now, he’s slept anywhere from twelve to sixteen hours.

“Time’s it, J?” he asks through another yawn.

“Just after 6am,” JARVIS replies.

Closer to sixteen hours, then. It’s been a long time since he slept that long. He contemplates whether he wants to get up on his own or ask JARVIS to get Steve when the door opens, and Steve pokes his head in. He smiles when he sees that Tony is awake and Tony smiles back, no longer feeling grumpy. He lifts his arms up in a silent request to be picked up.

“Hey baby. Feeling better?” Steve pushes the door all the way open and enters, crossing quickly to the crib. He scoops Tony up and nuzzles him. 

“Mm, all better,” Tony mumbles, which isn’t exactly a lie. He’s still super nervous about talking to the team, and his diaper is wet so that’s uncomfortable, but at least he no longer feels like he might barf out of sheer anxiety. He rests his head on Steve’s shoulder and sighs.

“We’ll let Mommy be the determinator of that,” says Steve, moving over to the changing table. He lays Tony down and unsnaps the crotch of the bodysuit to give him access to Tony’s diaper. Tony shuts his eyes and tries his best to ignore the feeling of cold wipes, though it does feel good when Steve gets him wrapped up in a new diaper. Steve snaps the crotch back up and then picks Tony up.

He carries Tony out of the nursery and down to the communal floor. It’s early, so most of the team isn’t awake yet. Of them all, only Bruce and Steve really enjoy being up before 10am. Thor is impossible to wake unless there’s something wrong, and Natasha has been known to threaten people with knives if they wander into her room while she’s sleeping. Clint will just straight-up refuse to get out of bed.

Tony likes sleeping in too when he can, though his opportunities to do so are considerably rarer than everyone else’s – most business meetings start no later than 8am or 8:30am. But there’s something nice about having the morning for just him and his daddy, too. He’s pretty sure Steve has gone for his morning run already, because Steve smells pleasantly of the body wash that he favors.

And then Steve walks into the living room and Tony sees that Pepper is awake too; she’s curled up on the couch with a cup of coffee and a stack of papers, but she sets it aside when she sees Tony and Steve and opens her arms up with a huge smile. Tony beams back and wiggles excitedly, reaching to her. Steve laughs and quickens his pace, leaning down to set Tony on the couch beside Pepper.

“How are you feeling, my little Avenger?” Pepper says, her eyes twinkling. She cups Tony’s face, then touches his forehead. “You’re not too hot today.”

“All good, Mommy,” Tony says. “No more med’cine.”

Pepper laughs. “You didn’t even taste your medicine, silly goose,” she says affectionately. “Let’s check your temperature. Steve, could you get the thermometer?”

Tony sulks a little, but opens his mouth readily enough when Steve pops the thermometer into his mouth. They wait the necessary few seconds and, when it beeps, Steve takes it out and declares Tony’s temperature close enough to normal that another dose of Tylenol isn’t necessary. Tony beams in triumph and snuggles into Pepper’s side, scooching down until he can lay his head in her lap.

“Toast, Daddy?” he asks, looking pleadingly up at Steve. “French toast? With ‘nanas?”

“Ooh, that sounds good,” Pepper says. “And nutella. Please, Daddy?” She makes a begging face that perfectly matches Tony’s.

Steve looks back and forth between them and sighs. “I hate it when you two gang up on me. Okay, French toast with bananas and nutella it is. I’ll be back.” He tickles Tony’s belly and heads into the kitchen.

“Mommy busy?” Tony asks, redirecting his expression towards Pepper.

“I’m never too busy for you,” Pepper says. “How about we watch some TV together before everyone else wakes up? JARVIS, could you turn the TV on?” Her hand drifts down to Tony’s hair as she speaks, and Tony snuggles in contentedly as the television comes on. At least until the rest of the team wakes up, he has a bit of a reprieve.


	2. Chapter 2

Naturally, by the time that breakfast hits the table, the rest of the team has miraculously woken up. Even Coulson shuffles in to join them, looking bleary-eyed and practically inhaling a cup of coffee. Tony takes a seat at the table rather than sitting in his high chair. He needs to be in his bigger headspace for this conversation, no matter how tempting it is to cuddle and hide behind Pepper or Steve.

“French toast. You’re the best mom ever, Steve,” Clint says, grinning with delight.

“I should let you starve,” Steve mutters, but that doesn’t stop him from heaping two more pieces onto Clint’s already full plate. Steve may insist he’s not the parent of their little group, but they all know that’s bullshit. Tony actually thinks it’s funny. Sometimes Steve will start treating the others the way he treats Tony without even realizing it. The rest of the team accepts the treatment with good grace for the most part, and Steve always manages to rein himself in before he goes too far.

“Breakfasts with chocolate are the best breakfasts,” Natasha says reasonably, putting some bananas on her plate. She takes a bite of the French toast and makes a soft sound of pleasure. Tony feels warm from head to toe when he catches sight of Steve’s ridiculously pleased smile.

“They certainly are,” Pepper says. “Thank you, Steve.”

Everyone choruses their gratitude, and Steve sinks down into his own chair to join them. For several minutes the only sound is that of clinking cutlery. Tony forces down half a slice before he can’t bring himself to eat anymore, and instead preoccupies himself by mushing up the bananas with his fork. He’d much rather be doing it with his bare hands, but that would make him a mess and then Pepper or Steve would have to clean him up.

“So how did San Francisco go? Are you okay?” Bruce asks, looking over at Pepper. “We saw the footage on the news, but it ended so quickly.”

“I’m fine. The paramedics said I didn’t have a scratch on me thanks to Iron Man,” Pepper says, and smiles right at Tony. “And to Captain America and Black Widow, of course.”

Natasha waves her off. “It’s fine. I accompanied the prisoner back to the ship,” she says to Coulson. “No one seemed to recognize him.”

“I’ll follow up with Maria later,” Coulson says. “But it wouldn’t surprise me if this was someone we’d never seen before. New supervillains seem to be popping out of the woodwork daily now. You’re lucky that Iron Man was there, Pepper. That fall could’ve easily killed you.”

The bottom swoops out of Tony’s stomach at the thought, and he clenches his hand around his knife. Coulson’s right. Steve and Natasha would’ve done their best to catch Pepper, but a fall from that height isn’t something the average person walks away from. If he hadn’t caught her… He feels sick all over again at the reminder of how close he came to losing Pepper permanently. 

“I know. I’m very grateful,” Pepper says somberly.

Tony’s mouth feels dry, but he forces himself to speak. “I – I’ll always be there to protect you, Pep.”

Clint chuckles. “Oh, right. You gonna gear up in your daddy’s suit and take the shield?” he asks teasingly.

“No. As Iron Man,” Tony says. He’s proud of himself for not stuttering or stammering. The words come out clearly enough that no one can mistake them as anything else. He sees the moment that it sinks in. Natasha goes very still. Thor drops his knife. Coulson freezes in the middle of refilling his coffee cup. Bruce stops chewing and just sits there. Clint’s mouth drops open.

“Excuse me?” Thor says, after a very long pause during which Tony gets that much closer to throwing up.

“I am Iron Man, and I always have been,” Tony says, clenching his hands into fists beneath the table in an effort to stop them from shaking. “From… from day one.”

No one says anything. They all just stare at him in disbelief. Pepper and Steve both smile at them though, and they look so proud that it makes a lump form in Tony’s throat. So long as he has their support, he knows he can do anything. He focuses on them while he waits out the initial shocked silence, hoping that no one can tell how nervous he is right now. 

“What?” Clint says finally, breaking the silence. “You… you’re Iron Man? But you’re a…” He stops himself before he says the word, even though Tony knows it’s what they’re all thinking. He clenches his hands tighter.

“Yes. That’s why I didn’t tell anyone at first,” Tony says slowly. He can’t read the room. He can’t tell how this is going. Are they mad? Are they just surprised?

“Pepper and I found out in San Francisco. Tony and I talked it over and I encouraged him to tell the team,” Steve says. 

“So you knew in San Francisco and you didn’t tell me?” Natasha says.

Steve looks at her steadily. “It was Tony’s secret to tell, not mine. Iron Man has been a valued member of our team for over two years now. The team wouldn’t be the same without him. I’d like to remind all of you that Tony has more than proven himself. He will continue on as Iron Man for as long as he wants to.” There’s a thin thread of steel running through Steve’s voice, as though daring anyone to argue.

“But it’s dangerous,” Bruce says quietly, his eyes flicking between Tony and Steve. “I’ve seen the research.”

“I don’t care. Being Iron Man is more important to me, and there are – there’s security measures in place. We can talk about them later in more detail, if you want,” says Tony. JARVIS monitors him at all times when Tony is in the armor, and has been prepped with protocols that will allow him to take control if Tony ever slips into his headspace. It’s only happened twice so far, which is a pretty decent track record as far as Tony’s concerned.

Bruce nods. “I’d like that.”

“You’re not planning to tell SHIELD?” Coulson asks, clutching another cup of coffee with both hands.

“No. And I would prefer if you didn’t. I don’t think that SHIELD needs to know. The Avengers have been managing just fine on their own with a minimum amount of consult from SHIELD. Furthermore, it’s only recently that Fury has backed off from trying to get the armor. You know this will just fire him back up,” Tony says, looking Coulson in the eye. They both know it’s true.

“Fair,” Coulson concedes with a slight tip of his head. “So long as your team captain is aware and okay with it, which he clearly is, I don’t see why I’d need to alert them. After all, as you said, the Avengers have been doing just fine with Iron Man when they didn’t know who he was. That doesn’t need to change now that they do.”

Natasha abruptly stands and leaves the room. Tony watches her go, feeling small and cold. He thought it might be too much to hope for that everyone would be okay with this, but he realizes then that he was hoping regardless. He looks over at Clint, who knows Natasha the best out of all of them, but Clint just shrugs. Pepper starts to stand up, Tony stops her.

“No, don’t. Let me,” he says, getting up. 

“You should know,” Thor says before Tony can leave, “I am proud to fight alongside you, Tony. As our dear captain said, you have more than proven your worth. You are a good teammate and a mighty foe to those who wish harm to Earth, and we are all fortunate to have you.”

Tony’s throat gets tight. “Thanks Thor.”

“Same goes for me, man,” Clint says, giving him a thumbs up. “So long as you continue to grab me when I jump off a roof, it doesn’t matter who’s in the armor.”

“You could just _not_ jump off roofs,” says Coulson dryly.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Tony and Clint say in perfect unison.

Coulson looks back and forth between them. “I’ve changed my mind. This is a terrible idea that I whole-heartedly disagree with.”

“Too late now,” Bruce says, smiling, and winks at Tony. 

“Aye, I can’t imagine anyone else as Iron Man now,” Thor chimes in.

“Why do I feel like I’ll regret this moment?” Coulson mutters to himself.

Tony’s grinning as he leaves the room, but the feeling doesn’t last. His smiles fades as he walks through the living room and into the elevator. Natasha will have gone to the roof, he knows. She doesn’t like the feeling of being closed in; she likes to feel as though she can always escape. No matter how many escape routes Tony builds into the tower, the roof will always be her favorite place.

JARVIS takes him to the roof without comment, so at least Natasha hasn’t asked that Tony not go up there. Tony decides to take that as a win, however small it might be, and steps through the doors when they open. He spots Natasha immediately. She’s leaning against the edge of the roof, staring down at the traffic that’s so far below him. It never fails to make his heart stutter a bit, seeing her that close, but he presses it down.

He walks over to her and silently leans against the rail as well, automatically tracking the traffic patterns. They’re so familiar to him now that he could draw them in his sleep if he wanted to. He wonders if Natasha finds comfort in knowing them. 

“I can’t change what I am,” he says towards the ground, not looking at her. “You’ve been fighting with me all this time. It’s still me under the mask.”

Natasha’s fingers tighten around the rail. “There was a Little in the Red Room once,” she says quietly, and Tony glances over at her in surprise. She never talks about her past. Ever. 

“Did you know them?” he asks, when it becomes clear that she’s not planning to finish her sentence. He can’t tell where this is going, but it sounds like something she needs to say. 

“I knew of them. There were no friends back there,” she says, which Tony already knew. “Back then, the tests they had access to weren’t as advanced as the ones we have now. She was fourteen when they found out. Baseline like me were preferred. Caregivers weren’t looked fondly upon, but they would do. Littles were used as target practice.” She sets her jaw.

Tony recoils slightly, a chill running down his spine. In retrospect, it doesn’t surprise him. “By you?”

“No. I was already a good enough shot with a gun. I didn’t need practice,” she says, and turns a grim look on him. “Tony… Littles weren’t allowed because they couldn’t be trusted in the field. Littles can slip into their headspace at any time. They’re physically weaker than the average person. They can’t stay out of their headspaces for long periods of time. I know you’ve got experience with being outside your headspace, but still.”

He takes a moment to think, to work through the automatic anger, and then says, “That’s short-sighted of the Red Room.”

Natasha’s eyes narrow slightly. “How so?”

“Everyone trusts Littles, because people think so little of us,” Tony says, looking her in the eyes. “If I were an assassin, it would be easy to get close to my targets. Hide a knife in my diaper and I could kill someone before they even realized I was a threat.” He crosses his arms over his chest. 

“It’s true that Littles are physically weaker, but that’s what my armor is for. I’ve been doing this for longer than the Avengers have existed, Natasha. It’s not something I decided to do one day on a whim because Fury invited Iron Man to join the Avengers. I’m committed to it, and I always have been. I’m frankly _insulted_ by the implication that you think I’d put the rest of the team in danger. You, of all people, should know how much thought and preparation I put into anything that pertains to the team.”

“It changes things,” Natasha says weakly.

Tony shakes his head. “Just to you. I am Iron Man, and I always have been. The only difference is now you know who’s behind the mask. The guy behind the mask, the one you’ve entrusted your life to multiple times, hasn’t. I thought you would be better than this, but you’re buying into the same biased garbage as everyone else.” He presses his lips together and turns away. He half-hopes she’ll stop him on the way to the door, but she doesn’t.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Малышка = my little one

What might happen during the first battle weighs heavily on Tony’s mind right up until he no longer has a chance to dwell on it. About four days after he tells the team the truth, the Avengers alarm goes off while he’s playing video games with Clint. The very first thing that crosses Tony’s mind is how potentially weird things are going to get, and he lowers his controller while shooting an apprehensive look in Clint’s direction. 

But Clint’s not even looking at Tony; he’s got his phone out and is already scrolling through news feeds trying to figure out what’s going on. He gives Tony an absent-minded pat on the arm, jumps up and runs off to get ready. Tony does the same, and as he goes he realizes that it’s super strange to not have to worry about covering for his absence. He doesn’t have to set up a hologram, or make an excuse to Pepper. He can just… go.

It’s actually really refreshing.

Iron Man meets up with the rest of the Avengers as per usual, and no one gives him a second glance or treats him any differently. Steve does stutter a bit when telling Iron Man to join Thor in the air, and it’s easy to see the flicker of worry beneath Captain America’s otherwise composed expression, but otherwise he remains professional. And when Hawkeye leaps off a building in the middle of the battle while calling out Iron Man’s name, well, that’s the moment when Tony knows for sure that everything is going to be okay.

“You’re going to make Coulson bald at this rate,” Iron Man says, and it’s bizarre to hear his own voice echoing in his ears without the use of a voice modulator. He wonders if the others find it weird. They must.

“He would look hot bald,” Hawkeye says musingly.

“Eww. If you’re going to do that, I will drop you,” Iron Man threatens. 

“I’m just saying, if you put a bald Coulson in a suit with glasses –”

“Oh my god, please drop him if that’s what it takes to shut him up,” Black Widow says. Iron Man and Hawkeye look around automatically and spot her on the ground about a hundred feet away. She does a very impressive backflip off the top of a parked car and stabs the woman she’s fighting with in the chest.

“I’m wounded, ‘Tasha. _Wounded_ ,” Hawkeye says dramatically, clutching at his chest.

“You will be wounded if Coulson gets his hands on you. This is an open mic,” she says, and Hawkeye winces.

“Yes, it is,” Coulson says dryly, and Iron Man can perfectly picture the pinched look on Coulson’s face. He grimaces and flies lower to the ground to gently set Hawkeye down, then heads back up into the air to do inventory. It’s pretty easy to pick out where Thor is – the flashes of lightening are a dead give away – and he can hear the roaring of Hulk somewhere over to his right. 

He sweeps his eyes around until he locates Captain America scaling the side of a building, heading for the machine at the top. Iron Man flies over and grabs Cap around the shoulders, lifting him up. It’s gratifying to see how easily Cap lets go, trusting himself entirely to Iron Man’s grip. They fly up to the very top where Iron Man lets Cap drop. Cap lands on the machine, grabs his shield off his back, and starts smashing away.

The battle ends pretty quickly after that. SHIELD agents start sweeping and collecting the bad guys, putting them in cuffs and carting them into armored trucks. More agents pick up the pieces of the machine. Iron Man sticks around for a while, monitoring them, until he’s sure that they’re doing their jobs properly. Then he flies down to join the rest of the team, who are gathered around a recovering Bruce.

“Good job, everyone. Let’s debrief and then head back to the tower,” says Cap, pulling his cowl down and wiping at his forehead. 

“Aw, man. Can’t we debrief later? I’m tired. I need a shower,” Hawkeye says, tugging at the neckline of his uniform and fanning at himself. He looks hot and sticky, with beads of sweat rolling down his face. Iron Man, watching, switches to the private channel.

“JARVIS, make a note that we need to work on making the armor more breathable,” he says.

“Note made, Sir,” JARVIS says. 

“Good. Maybe start running some tests on the fabric. I’d like to see if we can make the air flow improved by at least 25% without affecting the durability of the armor. Maybe we can add some –”

“Iron Man?” Bruce’s voice cuts into his train of thought.

“Uh, what? Sorry,” Iron Man says, looking around and realizing that everyone else is staring at him. “I was just telling JARVIS to – you know what, never mind.” He shrugs, though the movement doesn’t usually travel well through the armor. He’s almost positive that he and JARVIS can make it happen, but it’s better not to get Steve’s, Natasha’s and Clint’s hopes up until he has the armor ready for them to try on.

“We’re going to go back to the tower and get cleaned up, and then we’ll remotely debrief with Fury. Does that work with you?” Cap asks.

“Fine with me. Anyone want a lift?” Iron Man asks.

Black Widow stands up. “I’ll take one. I didn’t have time to put on underwear, and my suit is riding up into places that it shouldn’t be.”

Everyone grimaces at that, and Iron Man holds an arm out to her. She gracefully steps into it and hooks her arms around his neck, her feet finding the small perches he added to the armor weeks ago. They take off, though he flies at a much slower rate for her than he does when he’s holding someone like Cap. In spite of that, they reach the tower well before everyone else does. He lands on the balcony, she jumps down, and they walk inside. Iron Man never takes the armor off until he’s in the tower and JARVIS has tinted the windows to prevent any spies from seeing or taking pictures.

Natasha strips her uniform off right there, leaving her in cotton pajama shorts and a t-shirt, and then turns to look at him as the ‘bots and JARVIS go to work removing the armor from Tony. It’s only the second time anyone has watched him get out of the armor, and Tony’s skin prickles with the discomfort of being watched so intensely. He can’t tell what she’s thinking as his feet hit the ground; she’s always so hard to read. He looks up at her and waits for judgement.

“Come here and give auntie a kiss,” she says, spreading her arms.

Tony blinks at her, a little bewildered. “What?”

“I’ve spent some time going back over our previous battles. You always like to be in your headspace after we have a fight,” she says, her arms still outstretched. “It’s your way of coming down, right? And I know you haven’t been in your headspace for sustained period of time for a while. Come here, малышка.”

“So you… you’re okay with me being Iron Man?” Tony asks nervously. They haven’t really talked about it since their conversation on the balcony

“It took me some time to wrap my head around it, but you were right. You’ve always been Iron Man. When I first started with the Avengers, being around Iron Man was uncomfortable. I usually know everything about the people I work with, and you were a total mystery. Knowing who is behind the mask is a good thing.” She smiles slightly. “Even if I did feel like slapping myself upside the head for not figuring it out.”

“I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want anyone to know,” he admits, and she nods.

“I know. Based on my own reaction, I can’t blame you for that. You probably made the right choice. Knowing what I do about Tony Stark, both big and little, made it a lot easier to reconcile who you are as Iron Man. I probably would’ve freaked out had you told me at the start. And for that reason, I’m actually glad you didn’t.” She looks up at him, her eyes earnest and steady. 

“Thank you,” Tony breathes, closing the distance between them. Her arms are warm as they close around him and he nuzzles into her, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Unlike Pepper, Natasha rarely wears perfumes. So she usually smells like the apple shampoo she favors, and it’s exactly what Tony needs right then.

“Mm, you need a bath,” Natasha observes, dropping a light kiss onto the top of his head. “You’re all sweaty.”

“I do not,” Tony says, wrinkling his nose. He doesn’t mind baths sometimes, but right now he really wants to cuddle on the couch and have some junk food before Steve gets back.

“Yes you do, but I’ll leave that to your daddy. You’re not wet, are you?” she asks.

“No,” Tony says instantly, and wiggles with a low whine when Natasha slides her hand down the back of his pants to check. He’s really not.

“You’re good,” she says, removing her hand. “How about a treat?”

“A treat?” Tony repeats.

Her eyes sparkle as she grins at him. “Follow me, Малышка. I’ve been saving something special for just the two of us. It’s not easy to find a moment when it’s just the two of us.” She wraps an arm around his shoulders and pulls him out of the room.

They go down to the common room floor, where Natasha rummages around at the very back of the smallest cupboard until she unearths chocolate from across the pond. She gets it flown in specially, and she rarely shares it with anyone. Touched, Tony takes it from her and holds it while she prepares herself a cup of tea and a bottle of warm milk for him. He knows this is her way of apologizing, and it means a lot.

They split the bar of chocolate right down the middle. Tony eats his portion in small bites, savoring the rich taste, then drinks his bottle. He feels warm and sleepy by the time he’s done. Natasha finishes off her tea and sets her cup and the bottle in the sink, then leads him into the living room. They curl up together on the couch and Tony slides his thumb into his mouth, head comfortably set in her lap.

She turns on a movie, but it’s got lots of people and a confusing storyline and Tony stops caring about it approximately five minutes into it. He prefers to turn his attention to Natasha, watching the way her face changes from amusement to concern and back again. It’s nice to see her so relaxed; he remembers when she first came to the tower, and she kept all of her emotions locked away.

The rest of the team isn’t exactly quiet when they come in. Clint, Bruce and Thor pass by without stopping, all of them heading into the kitchen: they’re usually starving when they come back from a mission, especially Bruce. Steve walks into the living room in SHIELD-issue sweatpants, which means they went back to SHIELD after all. He smiles at the sight of Natasha and Tony. 

“You got him to nap. Good job.”

“Magic of an aunt,” Natasha says. “He’s heavy, though.”

“I’ll take him. He probably needs to be changed by now, anyway.” Steve moves closer and gently lifts Tony off the couch and into his arms. Tony whines a little in protest, which makes both Natasha and Steve chuckle, and Steve pops a pacifier into Tony’s mouth.

“I have him a bottle,” she says.

“Thanks Natasha,” Steve says. He turns to leave.

“Steve?” Natasha says, stopping him. “You made a good choice with Iron Man. I don’t know if I ever told you that, but we’re lucky to have him. To have Tony.”

“I know,” Steve says, and there’s something so warm and tender in his voice that it makes Tony’s eyes burn with tears. He squeezes his eyes shut and sluggishly wraps his arms around Steve’s neck. Steve hugs him tighter in response and resumes walking out of the room.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](https://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


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